Health Administration Salaries in California

Not only is California home to more healthcare administrators than anywhere else in the nation, their average earnings were the second highest in the nation according to a May 2014 report published by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

Specific regions throughout California that ranked within the top ten best paying metro and non-metro areas for healthcare administrators in the nation included:

The California Employment Development Department (EDD) expects the number of healthcare administrator jobs statewide to increase 49% faster than the average for all occupations in California between 2012 and 2022. With the level of projected job growth for healthcare administrators in California at 22.2%, the EDD expects 1,290 jobs will become available for healthcare administrators each year on average during this ten-year period.

One of the reasons for this high level of growth is that industries that are major employers of healthcare administrators are projected to hire more employees between 2012 and 2022. The EDD projects that the following healthcare industry subsectors will increase employment during this ten-year period:

Nursing and residential care facilities: 8%

Ambulatory health care services: 7%

Hospitals (private): 1%

The increase in private hospitals is of particular importance to healthcare administrators, since hospitals are the major employers of these professionals according to the US Department of Labor.

Salaries for California’s Healthcare Administrators by Location

As the highest paying state in the country for healthcare administrators, second only to DC, the median salary among healthcare administrators in California was more than 27% higher than the national median – $118,040 as of 2015 according to the California Employment Development Department. Healthcare administrators in the 75th percentile (typically experienced) earned an average of $150,696, while those in the 25th percentile (typically entry-level) averaged $86,445.

The median salaries for healthcare administrators varied dramatically throughout California. The median salary for healthcare administrators in San Benito and Santa Clara Counties was exceptionally high:

Butte County: $97,858

East Bay Area: $127,415

Eastern Sierra Region: $120,074

Fresno County: $117,894

Inland Empire Area: $110,239

Kern County: $113,321

Kings County: $93,508

Los Angeles County: $117,276

Madera County: $126,969

Merced County: $109,488

Monterey County: $101,721

Mother Lode Region: $114,437

Napa County: $116,789

North Coast Region: $87,678

North Valley Region: $94,735

Northern Mountains Region: $84,443

Orange County: $94,106

Sacramento Metro Area: $124,982

San Benito and Santa Clara Counties: $153,697

San Diego County: $112,094

San Francisco Bay Area: $145,241

San Joaquin County: $116,556

San Luis Obispo County: $100,434

Santa Barbara County: $134,990

Santa Cruz County: $125,144

Shasta County: $98,406

Solano County: $145,221

Sonoma County: $126,645

Stanislaus County: $127,476

Sutter and Yuba Counties: $107,856

Tulare County: $93,925

Ventura County: $106,720

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics provides a full analysis of salaries for healthcare administrators in the major metropolitan and nonmetropolitan parts of California as of 2014. The median salary among healthcare administrators in the San Jose area was the highest:

Area name

Employment

Hourly mean wage

Annual mean wage

Hourly median wage

Hourly 75th percentile wage

Hourly 90th percentile wage

Annual median wage

Annual 75th percentile wage

Annual 90th percentile wage

Bakersfield-Delano CA

450

54.27

112870

53.73

64.30

73.91

111760

133750

153740

Chico CA

150

49.94

103880

46.40

58.31

71.85

96510

121290

149440

Fresno CA

690

56.22

116940

55.90

67.68

78.56

116270

140770

163410

Hanford-Corcoran CA

90

51.69

107520

44.34

55.01

77.56

92220

114430

161330

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale CA Metropolitan Division

7770

58.47

121610

55.61

70.11

90.00*

115660

145820

187199*

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana CA

10600

55.64

115730

53.26

68.22

86.90

110780

141890

180750

Madera-Chowchilla CA

130

71.56

148850

60.20

90.00*

90.00*

125220

187199*

187199*

Merced CA

110

56.98

118530

51.91

61.63

90.00*

107980

128190

187199*

Modesto CA

390

58.96

122630

60.44

71.48

84.88

125720

148690

176540

Napa CA

100

56.24

116980

55.38

67.42

82.25

115180

140240

171080

Oakland-Fremont-Hayward CA Metropolitan Division

2810

61.11

127100

60.41

73.70

90.00*

125660

153290

187199*

Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura CA

500

56.09

116670

50.60

67.29

88.79

105250

139960

184690

Redding CA

140

50.55

105140

46.66

64.12

79.61

97050

133360

165590

Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario CA

2270

58.00

120630

52.27

67.44

90.00*

108720

140270

187199*

Sacramento--Arden-Arcade--Roseville CA

1590

59.84

124460

59.26

71.99

89.71

123260

149730

186600

Salinas CA

240

51.34

106780

48.23

62.65

83.87

100320

130310

174450

San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos CA

2270

55.89

116250

53.15

65.84

86.63

110550

136950

180190

San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont CA

4610

64.78

134730

64.27

76.82

90.00*

133670

159780

187199*

San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City CA Metropolitan Divi

1810

70.47

146580

68.87

81.50

90.00*

143240

169520

187199*

San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara CA

1830

75.73

157510

72.87

88.39

90.00*

151580

183850

187199*

San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles CA

150

50.41

104860

47.62

59.68

76.53

99050

124130

159180

Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine CA Metropolitan Division

2830

47.89

99610

44.62

61.28

75.31

92810

127470

156650

Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta CA

250

64.81

134810

64.00

75.60

90.00*

133130

157250

187199*

Santa Cruz-Watsonville CA

150

62.03

129030

59.34

73.95

90.00*

123420

153820

187199*

Santa Rosa-Petaluma CA

510

57.15

118860

60.05

71.53

82.49

124900

148770

171580

Stockton CA

420

56.32

117140

55.26

63.52

76.83

114950

132120

159810

Vallejo-Fairfield CA

290

67.02

139400

68.86

78.46

90.00*

143220

163190

187199*

Visalia-Porterville CA

150

44.00

91520

44.23

49.68

57.15

92010

103340

118860

Yuba City CA

100

54.26

112870

51.14

63.86

84.30

106370

132830

175350

Mother Lode Region of California nonmetropolitan area

70

61.13

127160

54.26

67.83

90.00*

112860

141090

187199*

Eastern Sierra Region of California nonmetropolitan area

30

58.55

121790

56.93

68.01

81.53

118420

141460

169590

North Coast Region of California nonmetropolitan area

240

43.06

89570

41.57

47.66

59.70

86470

99120

124170

North Valley Region of California nonmetropolitan area

70

44.27

92070

44.92

55.12

65.62

93430

114640

136500

Northern Mountains Region of California nonmetropolitan area

100

46.40

96520

40.04

50.69

90.00*

83280

105440

187199*

*These values are equal to or greater than $90 an hour or $187,199 a year. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish salary data higher than these values.